Cad Software.

randyc,
I am CADtarded When I had drafting in high school our delete key was on the other end of your pencil. So where can I find tutorials Librecad? Or is there any books that would be helpful for just learning cad?
 
markknx said:
randyc,
I am CADtarded When I had drafting in high school our delete key was on the other end of your pencil. So where can I find tutorials Librecad? Or is there any books that would be helpful for just learning cad?
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YouTube University Flustered

Just typing in "LibreCAD tutorials" provides results like this -

 
youtube is often where I go as well for Librecad tutorials. Blender on the other hand has some nice written tutorials but it's very tricky to use blender as a cnc cad.
 
dracozny said:
youtube is often where I go as well for Librecad tutorials. Blender on the other hand has some nice written tutorials but it's very tricky to use blender as a cnc cad.
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Flustered That's because Blender is not a CAD program. Blender is a very, very good mesh modeler, and I am a big fan and user of the program, for video animations, physics and particle engine, etc., but it is not CAD. True enough, it has a number of CAD like tools in it and is has been used for non critical things, but it simply lacks the precision of a geometric CAD program, be it 2D or 3D.

On the other hand, in the open source arena, FreeCAD is a fully parametric 3D modeler with mathematical accuracy down to the molecular level, if you really need something that accurate. In Blender,(as well as sketchup and several others), when you make a circle, you're really making a multi edged polygon. In FreeCAD, as with any solid modeler or geometric 2D CAD, a circle is a circle with only 1 edge and a radius.

Oh, and there are both written and youtube video tutorials for FreeCAD, plus an active user /developer supported Help section in the FreeCAD forum.

Don't get me wrong, Blender can be used successfully for things like CNC routers, carving out plaques and such, but I would not ever use it to CNC bearing races for a jet engine.;)

Mark
 
MarkStephen said:
Flustered That's because Blender is not a CAD program. Blender is a very, very good mesh modeler, and I am a big fan and user of the program, for video animations, physics and particle engine, etc., but it is not CAD. True enough, it has a number of CAD like tools in it and is has been used for non critical things, but it simply lacks the precision of a geometric CAD program, be it 2D or 3D.

On the other hand, in the open source arena, FreeCAD is a fully parametric 3D modeler with mathematical accuracy down to the molecular level, if you really need something that accurate. In Blender,(as well as sketchup and several others), when you make a circle, you're really making a multi edged polygon. In FreeCAD, as with any solid modeler or geometric 2D CAD, a circle is a circle with only 1 edge and a radius.

Oh, and there are both written and youtube video tutorials for FreeCAD, plus an active user /developer supported Help section in the FreeCAD forum.

Don't get me wrong, Blender can be used successfully for things like CNC routers, carving out plaques and such, but I would not ever use it to CNC bearing races for a jet engine.;)

Mark
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that's actually a complete misconception about the accuracy. you have to adjust the units of measure from blender units to imperial or metric. yes there is a setting for that. and then you can specify how many decimal places you would like to go. My main complaint about Freecad is actually the interface, seems off right? Most would complain about blender's interface but my favorite tools like extrusion are completely gone. and then the rule system just confuses me. http://www.britishideas.com/2012/07/01/configuring-blender-for-cad/

now if you really want to dig into the nit and grit of Blender as a cad program feel free to follow this guy's tutorials http://www.rab3d.com/index.php
 
Another package worth considering is ViaCad. I use the 2D3D version, but others may be more suitable for your needs.
 
There is a Free version called DoubleCad XT 5 that is effectively the same as AutoCad 2012. Therefore any of the AutoCad 2012 online Free video's will work. I found when doing my AutoCad College Course that this software met all of my needs even though it only did 2D. I could purchase for a minimal cost the PRO Version to do the 3D portion. Also it took a heck of a lot less computer resources including memory and hard drive space.
 
Lood said:
I'd like some opinions on good CAD software for amateur use? I don't mind paying for a good product, but seeing that I won't use it that much, I don't want to go overboard with regards to the price.
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Check out Design CAD 3D Max 24 is their latest version. You can get it for around $100 and they also have a CAD/CAM software package but not sure how much it is. They also have a pretty good forum to help answer any questions you may have and some free instruction videos out there.

Steve
 
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